For this week's blog entry, you will apply some of the poetry concepts that we have studied in class.  Your intial post should respond to the following prompt:

In a brief (1 - 2 paragraphs), but meaningful post, compare and contrast the ways in which the authors of "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and "Pig" use literary devices to create meaning.  You may wish to consider such elements as metaphor, speaker and audience, situation, and structure.

You will receive a copy of "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas in class on Monday.  You may access the lyrics to "Pig" here.  Please note that all five members of the Dave Matthews Band (Carter Beauford, Stefan Lessard, Boyd Tinsley, Leroi Moore, and Dave Matthews) are credited for the lyrics to "Pig."  If you would like to listen to the song, try here.

Your post and comments are due by 11:59pm on Sunday, December 5, 2010.  Please remember that your post should offer actual literary analysis, citing the concepts, techniques, and terminology that we have discussed in class to support your ideas.

It's a simple task this week folks:  Follow the link to the AP survey on surveymonkey.com and make your voice heard.  Votey!

Click Here to Take Survey

The survey will stay open until 11:59 pm on Sunday, November 28, 2010.  Therefore, you may not receive half credit for a late submission of this assignment.  Please make sure that you take the five minutes to vote.

Respond to the following quote:

Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character.
                           --Horace Greeley

Remember, your responses should interpret, support, refute, illustrate, or otherwise illuminate the quote.  Initial posts and comments are due by 11:59 pm on Sunday, November 21, 2010.

Satire Hunt

To close out our satire unit, I would like for each of you to find and post (or link to) your own example of satire.  Each example must include at least two tools of satire that we have discussed in class.  Along with your link, please post a brief analysis that discusses target, criticism, humor, meaning, and techniques.

While The Onion is a great resource for satire, don't limit your vision.  You may consider political cartoons from newspapers and magazines, clips from comedy shows such as The Soup, The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live, or The Dish, and even posts from other blogs.  Just remember, your example needs to be reasonably school-appropriate and be complex enough to merit analysis.

Your initial post and comments are due by 11:59 pm on Sunday, November 14, 2010.  Please review the blog rubric to make sure that you are maximizing your opportunities to excel on this assignment.

For the first blog assignment of the 2nd quarter, I would like for you to respond to "A Modest Proposal for the U.S. System of Education," which was handed out in class on Monday.  Remember, your response must include
a.)  discussion of the author's purpose or message and how she uses tools of satire to achieve it
b.)  explanation of how this piece reflects Swift's "A Modest Proposal"
c.)  your response or reaction to the satire

Additionally, you may discuss your own experiences that support or refute the author's ideas, other texts that offer opinions on the same topic, or anything that relates to the subject.  Posts and comments are due by 11:59 pm on Sunday, November 7, 2010.  Remember, a perfect post with two insightful comments will earn you 90 points; you can earn as many as 105 points by offering additional (quality) comments.